Board Thread:Pokémon Help/@comment-30212318-20161015235840/@comment-31287192-20170212045933

First, for a competetive team, you need a sweeper, I prefer special sweepers, Gengar (mega) is one powerful kind of S sweeper moves nature: Mild moveset: Hypnosis, Shadowball/Darkpulse for psychic, Dream eater and Energy ball for ground, IDK how to sweep dark types, if you have TM 83, Infestation, you can use that but its weak

Now a cleric, you need a Bulky spD, any fairy type, Florges is a good example, here is a tactic, spam calm mind and then moonblast them to oblivion, and when quite hurt, use wish. nature: calm

moveset: wish, moonblast, calm mind, ???

Now a physical sweeper, here are choices

Infernape @ Life Orb Ability: Blaze EVs: 64 Atk / 252 SpA / 192 Spe Naive nature (+Spe, -SpD) - Close Combat - Fire Blast - Grass Knot - Hidden Power Ice

Infernape is, in short, a threat that terrorizes many things that it touches. When your STABs put a world of hurt on many Pokemon you know something is up. Infernape's well-rounded stats (104 base Attack and Special Attack alongside 108 Speed) make it an excellent Pokemon to deploy on a team. The main role with Infernape is a mixed sweeper. Carrying STAB Fire Blast for its main attack it is paired alongside Grass Knot for Bulky Waters and Hidden Power Ice for Dragons. Infernape has only two problems really: Vaporeon and Blissey. Blissey is the easiest fix for Infernape thanks to STAB Close Combat. Unfortunately, Vaporeon is only 3HKOed and seeing Wish without Protect is a rare sight. At best, Infernape can finish off a weakened Vaporeon in the lategame. Of course one can forego using Hidden Power Ice and use Nasty Plot instead. With Nasty Plot even Suicune cannot switch into Infernape safely as Grass Knot nearly decimates it. Even Cresselia, one of the best mixed walls in OU, takes a pretty large chunk of damage from a boosted Fire Blast.

Life Orb is the main item that makes Infernape a major threat too. Making your offense even more solid combined with versatility is no joking matter. With Stealth Rock in play, even Gyarados and Salamence don't enjoy too many Fire Blast assaults. Expert Belt is not a terrible option, but the loss of power is noticeable especially against anything Infernape hits for neutral damage. Any Choice item is reasonable to put onto Infernape, though Scarf is noteworthy as it outspeeds +1 Salamence. Focus Sash allows Infernape to play as a lead. Endeavor, Stealth Rock, and Fake Out play major contributions to the lead set as Fake Out eliminates Focus Sash from activating while Endeavor allows Infernape to annoy the opponent even when it is almost down for the count. Taunt allows Infernape to shut down Metagross and Swampert from setting up Stealth Rock safely.

Metagross @ Life Orb Ability: Clear Body EVs: 112 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 132 Spe Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA) - Agility - Meteor Mash - Earthquake - ThunderPunch / Ice Punch / Explosion

Metagross is an odd offensive threat. Its typing is unique in that it has few weaknesses (only Ground and Fire); it has an awesome ability, Clear Body, which prevents abilities such as Intimidate from fazing Metagross. You almost have to ask, what more could you want from an awesome Pokemon? STAB Meteor Mash is tough to take on if you don't resist it, and even if your Pokemon does, it usually has to withstand an Earthquake. Earthquake easily shuts down all the grounded Steel-type Pokemon. What's left is beating the levitating Pokemon that resist such a combo. Ice Punch devastates Salamence and Zapdos while ThunderPunch damages Gyarados and Skarmory. There's Explosion which allows Metagross to take the opponent out with a bang. While it is often overlooked, Zen Headbutt is Metagross's best STAB to puncture the likes of Rotom-A.

The support movepool is what makes Metagross very interesting. We've already seen Agility is used as an option for Metagross. When you consider that Metagross with a neutral nature trounces Choice Scarf Jirachi with a positive nature, you know something's up. Interestingly enough, Metagross learns both Reflect and Light Screen, allowing Metagross to use its excellent typing and defenses to an advantage. Finally there's Trick to pair with Choice Band and Choice Scarf for Metagross to screw around with Skarmory and Hippowdon switch-ins as they could not only lose an important item, they also are locked to using only one attack.

Tyranitar @ Choice Band Ability: Sand Stream EVs: 164 HP / 252 Atk / 92 Spe Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA) - Stone Edge - Crunch - Pursuit - Aqua Tail / Earthquake

Whew, this thing has a massive movepool. Tyranitar is a major threat to the OU metagame. While it has many glaring weaknesses, it's Tyranitar's key elements of play that make it an intimidating threat. This Tyranitar can 2HKO almost every Pokemon in the OU metagame. STAB Stone Edge and Crunch are hard to take unless you're a Fighting- or Steel-type. Aqua Tail 2HKOes Hippowdon and Gliscor, though the latter is faster than Tyranitar and can force Tyranitar out. Earthquake's only benefit in comparison to Aqua Tail is hurting Jirachi and other Tyranitar harder than Crunch and Aqua Tail, respectively. Pursuit is a key attack to this set. Most Pokemon that Tyranitar can switch into are scared to face many of its attacks. With Pursuit, the opponent is punished if he/she decides to switch. This is an excellent tactic to deploy on Choice users such as Rotom-A and Latias. It makes revenge killing easier thanks to this attack as the opponent might barely scratch Tyranitar.

So what more about Tyranitar? It has Sandstream as an ability, which can be used for many purposes. With it, Tyranitar can be a good lead, since it breaks Focus Sashes automatically. Sandstorm boosts Tyranitar's modest Special Defense by x1.5, which makes Tyranitar a good Pokemon to switch into Special Attacks. Even those that strike Tyranitar for super effective damage can barely scratch a 3HKO on Tyranitar when it invests in Special Defense. This isn't just excluded to Tyranitar though. Any Pokemon that is a Rock-type gets the Special Defense boost. For example, a max HP / max Special Defense Careful Rhyperior takes Hidden Power Grass from Raikou and turns it to a 3HKO. That's not easy to do with a move that is x4 super effective on you. Finally it chips any Pokemon that isn't Rock, Steel, or Ground-type for 6.25% damage per turn, making sandstorm a useful stall tactic and an excellent way to nullify Leftovers on many Pokemon.

Gyarados @ Life Orb Ability: Intimidate EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA) - Dragon Dance - Waterfall - Stone Edge - Earthquake / Ice Fang

Gyarados's backstory is interesting. In RBY, it was considered a Pokemon that was slightly "unpredictable". Its decent attacking stats and versatile movepool allowed it to wreck many UU Pokemon and even step into the OU spotlight. Unfortunately, GSC changed Gyarados for the worse. It couldn’t shine in the OU metagame, but was a solid UU Pokemon. In Advance, Gyarados finally became a solid OU Pokemon. With Dragon Dance boosting its Attack and Speed to outrageous levels, it seemed Gyarados was a top threat. Then DPPt came with its Life Orb and physical Waterfall, and it seems like Gyarados will remain a top 5 threat for a very, VERY, long time.

So what exactly causes Gyarados to be a top threat? Well, we've already mentioned Dragon Dance. There's also Gyarados's STAB Waterfall. What makes it devastating is the small amount of Pokemon that resist it. Though Bulky Waters do exist in the metagame, many of OU's common physical walls are either weak to Waterfall (like Hippowdon and Gliscor) or neutral to Waterfall (like Skarmory). What makes it worse is the 20% flinch rate, which makes Gyarados a tough opponent to take down if you're slower than it. Packing Waterfall and Dragon Dance isn't all: powerful moves such as Ice Fang, Stone Edge, Earthquake, and Return give Gyarados exceptional type coverage. Ice Fang picks off the common Grass-types that wall Waterfall as well as Latias. Stone Edge is Gyarados's most powerful attack against Zapdos and other Gyarados. Earthquake pairs nicely with Waterfall and is far more accurate than Stone Edge. Finally, Return, despite not hitting anything for super effective damage, offers Gyarados near-perfect coverage with Waterfall. While not often a seen option, Bounce gives Gyarados a secondary STAB and allows it to defeat Celebi easily when paired with Dragon Dance.

Hey, that's not all! Gyarados has other options that make it a powerful threat. Taunt cripples most physical walls from using their recovery move or phazing options. Taunt, alongside Gyarados's bulk, allows it to set up more Dragon Dances. Taunt has been commonly used ever since ADV, and in DPPt it is still one of Gyarados's most common moves.

However, Gyarados has its disadvantages. A Stealth Rock weakness is a major hazard to Gyarados as it limits it from switching in and out of the field. There are also the crippling weaknesses to Rock and x4 Electric-weakness which stops Gyarados from sweeping as easily. Many bulky Waters as well as Celebi completely halt Gyarados's sweep.

Salamence @ Life Orb Ability: Intimidate EVs: 232 Atk / 24 SpA / 252 Spe Naive nature (+Spe, -SpD) - Dragon Dance - Outrage - Earthquake - Fire Blast / Stone Edge / Dragon Claw

Salamence shows the crew what "real power" is, with STAB on the attack type with the best neutral coverage in the game: Dragon. Just when you thought your team was safe, Salamence shows its face, and boy is it "intimidating"! With STAB Outrage, Dragon Claw, and Draco Meteor to choose from, Salamence has a diverse amount of options to consider. Its most used set, the Dragon Dance set, poses a major threat for many reasons. First, +1 Speed is excellent in a metagame that is practically driven by the Speed stat. Packing 328 Speed before a Dragon Dance and 492 after, Salamence is difficult to outspeed without using something gimmicky like Choice Scarf Gengar. After a Dragon Dance, Salamence is nearly unstoppable. STAB Outrage is a dangerous move on this set for both the opponent and the user. For the opponent, it means that any Pokemon that stays or foolishly switches in takes a severe amount of damage in the process. With only Steel types resisting Dragon, it makes it difficult to stop a +1 Salamence. A high reward does come at a cost at a high risk; Salamence is extremely prone to revenge killing because of Outrage’s side effect (it is locked in and unable to switch attacks or switch out). Despite the high, Salamence is still difficult to stop in its tracks. While Earthquake is generally an attack to take down the Pokemon that resist Outrage, there are still two problem Pokemon that remain: Skarmory and Bronzong. With Fire Blast, Skarmory is fried in a single shot (thanks to Life Orb), while Bronzong doesn’t have access to recovery. Even with Heatproof, it's vulnerable to a smart player using Earthquake on it. Dragon Claw can prevent Salamence from locking itself early on and helps preserve Outrage for pinch situations. Stone Edge also discourages Gyarados and Zapdos from switching in without locking Salamence into Outrage.

<p style="margin-top:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">For those that thought that Dragon Dance was Salamence's only threatening moveset, I'm afraid to say that you are far from right. Remember how I mentioned Draco Meteor? Another of Salamence's infamous movesets is the mixed attacker. Draco Meteor inflicts massive damage on any unsuspecting physical walls that switch in. Usually Salamence packs either Earthquake or Brick Break as its next attack. While Earthquake punishes Heatran easily, Brick Break has the added benefit of 2HKOing Blissey without resorting to Outrage. Speaking of Outrage, it is a common move on the MixMence set since it is Salamence's most powerful neutral option. Roost makes the MixMence pain last longer, making it agonizing for the opponent to take down.

<p style="margin-top:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">What's even worse is that Salamence can play as a bulky Pokemon too. With Roost and Intimidate, it has opportunities to set up on physical sweepers without super-effective attacks. There's even Wish, an NYPC move that can allow Salamence to play the Wish-passing role.

<p style="margin-top:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Lucario @ Life Orb Ability: Inner Focus EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA) - Swords Dance - Close Combat - ExtremeSpeed - Crunch / Stone Edge / Ice Punch

<p style="margin-top:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">At the beginning of DP, Lucario’s most popular set was the Specs set due to its high Special Attack and ability to lure in physical walls like Skarmory. After some time, players realized that Swords Dance Lucario had excellent wall-breaking capabilities and had ExtremeSpeed at its disposal to set it apart from Heracross, and to this day Lucario is one of the top physical threats in DPPt. While Crunch is currently the standard coverage move (to hit Cresselia, Rotom-A, and Celebi), Stone Edge and Ice Punch can be useful to break apart Lucario’s traditional counters to open up a sweep from its teammates.

<p style="margin-top:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">However, a Swords Dance set isn’t Lucario’s only niche. It has access to Agility, and can use it effectively against a weakened team. Thanks to Lucario's resistance to priority attacks and immunity to sandstorm, it doesn't have much to fear from a revenge kill. A Choice Band set is also viable, since Lucario has access to a strong STAB attack, many coverage moves, and a powerful priority attack (which can stop a sweep from something like a +1 Gyarados).

<p style="margin-top:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Lucario's main threat is the brute force it packs with its vast movepool. A single Swords Dance can spell doom to any unprepared team. Lucario’s +2 Close Combat is nearly 15% stronger than Salamence’s +1 Outrage, and can OHKO Skarmory and Bronzong after Stealth Rock damage. If having base 90 Speed wasn't enough, ExtremeSpeed makes it difficult to pack a revenge killer against Lucario. For example, Choice Scarf Flygon wouldn't be a bad choice if it wasn't for ExtremeSpeed packing Flygon's bags after a Swords Dance. Lucario’s coverage move makes it difficult to safely switch into it; Ice Punch seals Salamence and Gliscor's fate, Stone Edge puts Gyarados and Salamence into the ground, and Crunch spells doom for Rotom-A and Celebi.

<p style="margin-top:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">One of Lucario’s greatest assets and its main advantage over similar sweepers is its typing. Notice the resistances that Steel / Fighting packs: Lucario 4x resists Dark, Rock, and Bug while 2x resists Grass, Dragon, Steel, and Normal. Its numerous resistances allow Lucario to take advantage of Choice users like Tyranitar and Flygon to guarantee itself a free Swords Dance.

<p style="margin-top:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Scizor @ Choice Band Ability: Technician EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe Adamant nature (+Atk, -SpA) - U-turn - Bullet Punch - Superpower - Pursuit

<p style="margin-top:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Choice Band Scizor’s main threat comes from its utility. Its claim to fame is Bullet Punch, a 40 Base Power Steel-type priority attack. Since OU is littered with Pokemon that resist Steel (including Gyarados, Heatran, and Rotom-A), Bullet Punch is usually a mediocre attack choice. However, when boosted by Scizor’s Technician ability and a Choice Band, Bullet Punch becomes a fearsome force that is able to check many top OU threats and even sweep late-game. For example, Gengar is OHKOed after Stealth Rock damage, and Salamence has a good chance to be OHKOed after Stealth Rock damage and one round of Life Orb recoil. With U-turn, Scizor can take advantage of Psychic, Grass, and Dark-types to dent a counter and give a teammate a free switch-in. Pursuit is an awesome attack to pack against Choice users (especially Latias, Gengar, or Rotom-A), as it deals heavy damage when the opponent switches out.

<p style="margin-top:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">However, a Choice Band set isn’t Scizor’s only option. A Swords Dance set lets Scizor transform its Bullet Punch from a primarily utility-based move into a dangerous sweeping tool. Superpower lets Scizor slam Skarmory for heavy damage while warding off Heatran or Magnezone. Bug Bite can be used in the last slot on an all-out offensive set, while Roost can make Scizor a bulky stat-upper. Scizor has more counters than the rest of the Pokemon on this list, but what sets it apart is its ability to serve as both a utility Pokemon and a dangerous offensive threat.

<p style="margin-top:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;">Now lastly, the the speedy, good examples are flying and lighthing

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;color:rgb(64,64,64);font-family:"FiraSans","TrebuchetMS",Tahoma,Ubuntu,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;">Staraptor @ Choice Scarf / Band Ability: Reckless EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd Adamant Nature / Jolly Nature (Jolly is better usually) - Brave Bird - Close Combat - Double Edge - U-Turn

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;color:rgb(64,64,64);font-family:"FiraSans","TrebuchetMS",Tahoma,Ubuntu,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;">Now for Pros and Cons:

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;color:rgb(64,64,64);font-family:"FiraSans","TrebuchetMS",Tahoma,Ubuntu,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;">Staraptor:

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;color:rgb(64,64,64);font-family:"FiraSans","TrebuchetMS",Tahoma,Ubuntu,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;">Pros: <p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;color:rgb(64,64,64);font-family:"FiraSans","TrebuchetMS",Tahoma,Ubuntu,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;">Cons: <p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;color:rgb(64,64,64);font-family:"FiraSans","TrebuchetMS",Tahoma,Ubuntu,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;">or  Dragonite @ Leftovers / Lum Berry / Yache Berry
 * Great Sweeping potential
 * Amazing Ability in Reckless, Powers up Brave Bird and Double Edge
 * I dunno, it's just awesome
 * SR weakness
 * Not the best speed in the world

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;color:rgb(64,64,64);font-family:"FiraSans","TrebuchetMS",Tahoma,Ubuntu,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;">Trait: Multiscale EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD /252 Spe Adamant / Jolly Nature - Dragon Dance - Dragon Claw - Earthquake - IcePunch

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;color:rgb(64,64,64);font-family:"FiraSans","TrebuchetMS",Tahoma,Ubuntu,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;">Dragonite is the best setup sweeper in the game because it's ability Multiscale which almost always allows a turn of setup. Dragon Claw is a good STAB choice, Earthquake and Ice Punch are for coverage. Yache kinda sponges an ice move, Lum can absorb a status, and lefties keeps up the survivability.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;color:rgb(64,64,64);font-family:"FiraSans","TrebuchetMS",Tahoma,Ubuntu,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;">Pros: You'll always get up a DD unless you're taking a seriously powerful hit.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;color:rgb(64,64,64);font-family:"FiraSans","TrebuchetMS",Tahoma,Ubuntu,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:15px;font-weight:normal;">Cons: Weak to Stealth Rock which can break your Multiscale.